Sound waves may help cancer drugs reach the brain

NCT ID NCT05317858

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 20, 2026 · Updated 4 times

Summary

This study tests whether a focused ultrasound device can safely open the blood-brain barrier in people with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to the brain. About 30 participants will receive standard immunotherapy plus the ultrasound procedure. The goal is to see if this helps the drugs work better against brain tumors.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 3

Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.

Participants

About 30 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Aug 2022

Expected to finish

Dec 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

A company

The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 100 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Participant is ≥ 18 years of age * The participant provides written informed consent for the trial * Participant is willing to comply with all study procedures for the duration of the study * Participant has a Karnofsky Performance Status ≥ 70% and/or ECOG 0-2 * Participant is a NSCLC subject prescribed immune checkpoint inhibitor systemic therapy according to on-label use with the target brain lesion(s) measuring ≥ 0.5 cm in longest diameter. Target mets may include: De novo mets for which surgery and radiation can be deferred, Mets with or without history of prior radiation, Mets with history of radiation after at least 8 weeks since last radiation treatment, and In the event a previously treated met has progressed according to institutional practice within 4 weeks post radiation treatment, the met may be study eligible, and/or if in the opinion of the Investigator, the subject may benefit from the study procedure. * Female subject is not planning pregnancy during the study duration and confirmed NOT PREGNANT each procedure day. * Screening/Baseline laboratory values Screening/Baseline should adhere to local standard of care lab values for ICI therapy Exclusion Criteria * Participant has evidence of acute intracranial hemorrhage * Participant at risk for spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage (e.g., history of metastatic melanoma or other tissue histology). * Participant has signs and symptoms of increased intracranial pressure or symptomatic mass effect, midline shift or evidence of subfalcine, uncal or tonsillar herniation. * Participant receiving Bevacizumab (Avastin) therapy, or other drugs with a proclivity for causing bleeding. * History of bleeding disorders or tissue pathologies which increase the subject's risk of hemorrhage for anticoagulation medications, implement pre-surgical standard procedure to avoid increased risk of a bleeding event. * Participant has an infectious viral infection such as active Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C or detectable HIV viral load or participants with active bacterial infection such as TB (Bacillus tuberculosis) that may, in the opinion of the investigator, interfere with the subject receiving the study therapy or procedures or otherwise impact their participation in the trial. * Subjects with evidence of cranial or systemic infection. * Participant has received a solid organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplant. * Participant has received a live vaccine within 28 days prior to the first on-study ICI infusion with or without Exablate. * Known sensitivity to DEFINITY® ultrasound contrast agent or hypersensitivity to perflutren microsphere or its components, e.g., polyethylene glycol, as found in MiraLAX and bowel prep products. * Contraindications to MRI and gadolinium-DTPA including non-MRI-compatible implanted devices, severe claustrophobia, unable to lie supine in MRI. * Subjects with significant liver dysfunction, (cirrhosis, hemochromatosis, severe alcohol abuse, or active hepatitis (autoimmune or infectious)) * Has a diagnosis of immunodeficiency or is receiving chronic systemic steroid therapy (in dosing exceeding 10 mg daily of prednisone equivalent) or any other form of immunosuppressive therapy within 7 days prior to the first on-study ICI infusion with or without Exablate. Note: prophylactic steroid use for ICI and chemotherapy infusion per institutional practice is allowed per protocol. * Has a known additional malignancy that requires active treatment that would interfere with study procedures. * Known presence of leptomeningeal disease. * Has a diagnosis of active autoimmune disease (e.g., autoimmune Hepatitis, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, etc.) requiring systemic treatment in the past 2 years (i.e., with use of disease modifying agents, corticosteroids, or immunosuppressive drugs). Replacement therapy (e.g., thyroxine, insulin, or physiologic corticosteroid replacement therapy for adrenal or pituitary insufficiency, etc.) is not considered a form of systemic treatment. History of (non-infectious) pneumonitis that requires steroids or has current pneumonitis * Has a history or current evidence of any condition, therapy, or laboratory abnormality that might confound the results of the study, interfere with the subject's participation for the full duration of the study, or is not in the best interest of the subject to participate, in the opinion of the treating investigator. * Subject is currently enrolled in another intervention based clinical trial

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The study's own enquiry address

    This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .

  2. The places running it

    11 sites in 2 countries. The list below names each one and where it is.

  3. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  4. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Study contacts

  • Contact

    Email: •••••@•••••

Locations

  • Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

    RECRUITING

    Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27103, United States

  • Broward Health

    RECRUITING

    Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 33316, United States

  • Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

    RECRUITING

    Newport Beach, California, 92663, United States

  • Johnston Willis Hospital

    ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING

    Richmond, Virginia, 23235, United States

  • Miami Cancer Institute at Baptist Health

    RECRUITING

    Miami, Florida, 33176, United States

  • Moffitt Cancer Center

    RECRUITING

    Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States

  • Oregon Health & Science University

    RECRUITING

    Portland, Oregon, 97239, United States

    Contact Email: •••••@•••••

  • Rhode Island Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Providence, Rhode Island, 02903, United States

  • Samsung Medical Center

    NOT_YET_RECRUITING

    Seoul, Seoul, 06351, South Korea

  • Seoul National University Hospital

    NOT_YET_RECRUITING

    Seoul, South Korea

  • Severance Hospital, Yonsei University Health System

    NOT_YET_RECRUITING

    Soeul, South Korea

  • St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center

    WITHDRAWN

    Phoenix, Arizona, 85013, United States

  • Sunnybrook Research Institute

    ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING

    Toronto, Ontario, M4N 3M5, Canada

  • University of Maryland

    RECRUITING

    Baltimore, Maryland, 21201, United States

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